motile

Motility is a biological term which refers to the ability to move spontaneously and actively, consuming energy in the process. Most animals are motile and the term apply to single-celled or multicellular organisms. Motile marine animals are commonly called free-swimming. The opposite of motility is sessility.

Examples

Examples of motility include:

• Sperm cells, propelled by the regular beat of their flagellum
• The bacterium E. coli, which swims by roting a helical prokaryotic flagellum
• Human beings, who move at will

Movements

Movements can be:

• along a chemical gradient (see chemotaxis)
• along a temperature gradient (see thermotaxis)
• along a light gradient (see phototaxis)
• along a magnetic field line (see magnetotaxis)
• along a electric field (see galvanotaxis)
• along the direction of the gravitational force (see gravitaxis)
• along a rigidity gradient (see durotaxis)
• along a gradient of cell adhesion sites (see haptotaxis)
• along other cells or biopolymers

See also

• Cell migration

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